Hamilton impressed by new McLaren

Lewis Hamilton has given a thumbs up to McLaren's new 2008 car after driving it for the first time in Jerez, Spain.

"It was fantastic to get my hands on it. I saw the completed car for the first time on Monday and have been impatient since then," said Hamilton.

"You can't read all that much into so few laps but the feeling is positive."

His teammate, Heikki Kovalainen, also liked his first experience of the new car, as did team test driver Pedro de la Rosa.

"First impressions are good. The car's performance is definitely an encouraging starting point," said the Finn. On Wednesday we covered 69 laps in total between Heikki and me, which is a good start," said De la Rosa. "The car felt positive and it has been an encouraging day."